Gods Eater Burst: Lorelei
by Seiker Dragunov
Summary: In a world overrun by monters known as Aragami, humankind nears extinction. The last and only defense against them are the God Arcs, artificial Aragami weapons wielded by the ones known as God Eaters. With the first of the second generation of God Eaters, a New-Type, appearing, his story will begin to unfold in a world beyond chaos. Rated T for bloody violence, language etc.
1. Phase 1-1

Gods Eater Burst: Lorelei

**Disclaimer: I won nothing from the God Eater series…. Let's leave it there.**

* * *

_**Arc 1: Rookies**_

**Phase 1-1: The first New-Type**

**Fenrir Far East Branch/The Den/Directors Office**

"Director, we've found a possible match for a New-Type God Eater in the database."

"I see. What's his name?"

The Director pressed a button on the laptop near him, an image of the subject in question popping up.

"Hmm… Let's get him down here to take the aptitude test."

**Fenrir Far East Branch/The Den/Lobby**

Sitting in the lobby was a teen who couldn't have been much older than seventeen by his looks. His hair was short, choppy, and a dull black color. His eyes were a plae, icy silver, and his skin a little pale, though he didn't exactly stick out. He was wearing a blue variation of the Fenrir uniform with a hood that he'd obviously stitched on to the collar, and only his left hand had the fingerless glove on it. When the PA went off and his name was announced, the teen stood up and moved into the testing area, looking around at the expansive room that was, not surprisingly for some reason, riddled with marks from the training combat, and a lone case with a blue, newer model God Arc sat in the center of the room.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting so long. Now then, let's welcome you, to humankind's last fortress… Fenrir. I will now test your compatibility as a member of the Anti-Aragami Punitive Force, the God Eaters. Please, try to relax a little. You'll get better results that way. When you're ready, go stand in front of that case in the center of the room."

The teen nodded at the Directors words and moved to the center, examining the God Arc in the case. The thing looked like a massive, blue colored combat knife with a black edge, a collapsed gun that looked like a minigun, and a small, round shield on the side, and each part no doubt expanded when in use.

'So, this is a New-Type God Arc hmm? Well, I've come all this way. No turning back.'

The teen let out a long breath so he could relieve his nervousness, flexing his right hand, rubbing the skin on his wrist for a moment. He brought his ungloved right hand up and placed it on the handle of the God Arc, his wrist resting on half of the signature red bracelet of the God Eaters. The top half of the case crashed down, and a rather… odd squelshing sound came out, and the teen gritted his teeth as things became really, really painful. When the pain finally subsided and the case opened, a black haze was coming from the now completed bracelet on his wrist, and the teen let out a sigh as he let his other arm fall to his side.

The teen picked up the God Arc with ease after that, holding it over his head with surprise on his face. A few black tentacles came from the core of the God Arc, latching onto the bracelet, and a few black lines appeared on the teen's right hand for a moment before subsiding, and he lowered the weapon to rest on his shoukders.

"Congratulations. You are now the first of the Far East Branch's "New-Type" God Eaters. This concludes the Aptitude Test. Now that we know you're a match, you'll be going for a medical checkup next. Now then… I'd like you to wait in the room beyond that door… Don't hesitate to let someone know if you start feeling unwell. I've high hopes for you!"

**Lobby**

The teen let out a sigh as entered the lobby again, smiling a bit and doing a small fist pump.

'I passed! Hahaha! I'm officially a God Eater! And a New-Type at that! The first! This is awesome!'

He chuckled a little bit and went to sit down, another slightly younger teen next to him.

"Hey… you want some gum?"

The other teens voice was youthful and optimistic as he asked, and our main teen shook his head.

"No I'm good. Thanks for offering though."

The voice of our main teen was also cheerful, if deep for his age, though not by much, and a strange hint of cynicism was hidden in it.

"Ah it's fine… Agh I'm out anyway so I guess it doesn't matter. I am Kota Fujiki. So, you were a match to?"

"Uh… yeah. And I'm Lorelei Yamato. Nice to meet you Kota."

"Lorelei? That's an odd name."

"Eh heh, yeah, I know."

Lorelei scratched the back of his neck, a tick of his when he was embarrassed or nervous.

"Haha… well, that makes two of us. You must be my age… or maybe a little older. Oh well, I'm still your senior by a nanosecond."

"Hahaha! I'm sure nanoseconds don't count. And I'm seventeen, if you want to know."

"Ah man, that makes you two years older than I am. Darn it... ah well, I was still matched before you, so I guess that can count."

"Ha, well, it's always a good idea to keep your hopes up huh?"

Kota nodded and laughed a bit at Lorelei's comment.

"Yep. Well Lorelei, nice to meet you."

"Same."

The two boys shook hands and just as they were to start talking again, a black haired woman with an authoritive air about her approached.

"Stand up."

"Huh?"

"I said "Stand up." On your feet!"

Both boys shot up into positions of attention quickly, looking straight ahead.

"I'm on a tight schedule so I'll be keeping this short. My name is Tsubaki Amamiya, and I'm your advisor. This is your schedule- After the medical checkup, you'll complete a full curriculum of basic physical training, basic combat training, as well as a weaponry/armor clinic. We are the ones who have been protecting you up until now. But from this day forward, you'll be doing the protecting. If you don't want to die over something stupid, then you'll answer my every order with a "Yes." Understood? Answer me!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Tsubaki gleaned a small smirk at the rapid speed of the two teens when snapped at, though she quickly resumed her earlier, stoic look.

"All right, let's begin the medical checkups. We'll start with you."

Tsubaki looked towards Lorelei.

"Report to Doctor Paylor Sakaki's room by 1500 hours. Take a tour of the facilities until then. This is your new home, the Fenrir Far East Branch a.k.a "The Den." Make sure you pay your respects to the members of your team."

Lorelei nodded, and for the next couple of hours he spent his time looking around at the various sections of his new home. Of course, there wasn't entirely a lot to see seeing as how this was a simple base for the God Eaters. When the time finally came for the checkup, he went down to the medical wing in the elevator, moving across the hall into the room marked with Paylor's name. When Lorelei entered, he was greeted with the sight of two others there, one a tall, blonde man in a white coat with the same authority about him as Tsubkai, and the other a ragged looking, bespectacled man with silver hair, and he had a constant smile as he typed away, his eyes oddly closed, leaving Lorelei to wonder if they were even completely closed in the first place.

"Hmm… you got here 726 seconds sooner than I expected. Good to see you, New-Type. I'm Paylor Sakaki, and I'm in charge of Aragami technology R&D. Well… we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. Welcome aboard. Now then, as you can see, I'm still pretty busy getting prepared. Johannes, why don't you get your business out of the way first?"

Lorelei turned from Sakaki to Johannes, and something about the man's voice as he began to speak was familiar, and then it clicked: Johannes was the Director who'd oversaw the Aptitude test.

"Dr. Sakaki I think it's high time you learned to separate business form private matters. Thank you for taking part in the Aptitude Test. My name is Johannes von Shcicksal. I'm in charge of the Fenrir branch of this region. Congratulations again on passing the test. I expect great things from you."

"He's a former techie too you know. The New-Types medical checkups interest you to no end, right, Johannes?"

"I decided to retire as a techie because we have you. Keep that in mind."

"Did you really ever retire though?"

The banter between the two hinted Lorelei as to how the two may have been good friends, but hell if he was sure on that. Best not to assume.

"Hmm… now then, this is where the real fun starts. Let me explain the Fenrir's corporation's objectives once more. Your direct duties are very simple. They are to keep the Aragami in this region at bay… and to gather materials, which are then converted into resources needed to maintain this advanced base, as well as to complete the impending "Aegis Project"."

"Ugh… look at these numbers!"

Lorelei looked towards Paylor as the man spoke up, wondering if something was wrong, but thought against it… perhaps it was the opposite, which was the more likely guessing by Paylor's tone. Lorelei threw the thoughts from his mind and turned back to Johannes.

"The Aegis Project… is, simply put, a plan to create a utopia impregnable against Aragami attacks, located far out at sea, close to the former Sea of Japan trench."

"Ah ha!"

Lorelei just had to raise an eyebrow at what Paylor was musing about.

'What the heck is he seeing?'

Johannes continued once more, ripping Lorelei from his thoughts.

"Once the project is complete, humankind will be able to avoid extinction, at least, for a while."

"Amazing! So this is what a New-Type is like!"

"And that confirmed the creeping suspicion Lorelei had that being a New-Type, his numbers were surprisingly high or something of the like, though he knew well enough numbers were simply numbers, and he'd need tons of training _and _experience if he was going to be a top class God Eater. You weren't just born with these skills.

"Paylor… you're disrupting my lecture."

"Oh, sorry about that. I was so taken aback by these stats… I got carried away."

"At any rate, the future of human kind is at stake. So give it your best effort."

"I'll do my best not to disappoint sir. Count on it."

Johannes lip twitched for a spilt second in a small grin at the teen's curt response.

"All right. I'll be taking my leave. I'm leaving ti all to you, Paylor. Send me the data when you're done."

Paylor waved a bit as Johannes left, and Lorelei looked back over his shoulder.

"So he's the Director? Man… talk about intimidating."

Lorelei sighed as he felt the pressure he'd been feeling while Johannes was in the room lift, and he turned back to Paylor.

"Okay, we're good to go now. Lie down on that bed, will you? You'll feel sleepy for a little while, but I assure you there's nothing to worry about. When you wake up, you'll be in your own room. Just a little cat nap so to speak… you'll get 10,800 seconds. Sweet dream!"

'Wouldn't a couple of minutes have sufficed? Ah well, at least that's done with.'

Lorelei shrugged as he laid down on the bed and closed his eyes, drifting off rather quickly. When he finally did wake up, he was in a different room… and admittedly sore.

"Well, guess this is my new place. Hmm… not bad actually."

Lorelei sat up and stretched his arms, hearing a couple of pops when he stretched his back.

"Well… guess it's time for basic training. Wonder how harsh Ms. Amamiya's gonna be."

**After training**

Kota and Lorelei flopped down on the couch in the lobby, both looking tired.

"Man… that wasn't… so hard… if… tiring…"

"Speak for… yourself Lorelei… your God Arc can change forms… but I'm stuck with one form… and its long range."

"Hey… at least I didn't nearly pass out!"

"Oh please! I saw how tricky it was for you to switch forms at first!"

"Well at least I got it down… man they are rough here… live training dummies that attack… talk about crazy…"

Both boys looked at each other for a second before laughing.

"Hahahaha… well, we're going to be getting a mission tomorrow… live combat already… yeesh."

"Yeah. I just hope they don't grind on us right Kota?"

"Uh huh. Let's hope we don't run into any big Aragami at the start. _That _would get crazy."

"Agreed. Well… guess that officially makes us God Eaters huh?"

Kota nodded in silent agreement, and neither had to voice what was on their mind next. Things were gonna get tough, but the glint in their eyes told the two rookies welcomed the challenge.

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**A/N**

**And there is the start of this story! Essentially, this is going to be a novelization of Gods Eater Burst, from beginning to end, with me giving the MC, in this case Lorelei, a personality and responses based on what I think he'd give. The story will be split in multiple arcs, how many, I'm not sure. Hope you stick around for the ride!**


	2. Phase 1-2

Gods Eater Burst: Lorelei

**Phase 1-2: First missions**

**The Den**

Lorelei was waiting in the lobby with his elbows on his knees, waiting patiently for the other God Eater assigned to this mission, the leader of the unit he was assigned to. He turned his head when he spotted someone moving down the stairs, a black haired man in a long coat, and the receptionist addressed him.

"Oh, Lindow… the Director said if I saw you, to tell you to come and see him."

"OK! Don't tell him you saw me."

The casual tone in Lindow's voice was… offsetting to Lorelei. He'd been talking with some of the other God Eaters, and they were new like him, or grizzled veterans with a chip on their soldier… it was more or less take your pick with a few, though some of the more experienced God Eaters were kind enough to give the rookie some friendly advice, though it was rather cynical… then again, Lorelei couldn't blame them.

Lorelei shrugged and stood up as Lindow walked over to him.

"Hey there, rookie. The name in Lindow Amamiya. On paper, I'm your superior officer. But, uh, never mind all that boring stuff okay? All I'm asking is that you become someone I'll _know _will have my back. OK?"

"Under… uh… I mean yes."

Lindow sighed at how rigid Lorelei was, but then again the kid probably wasn't used to a superior acting in the way Lindow does, so the older man decided to let it slide.

"Oh, who's this, a rookie?"

Sakuya approached the two in her usual gait, and Lorelei just remained silent. He had a habit of not talking much, unless needed.

"Yeah, and I'm pounding him with our severe rules right now, so take a hike Sakuya."

'Severe? Those were probably the loosest rules I've ever heard.'

Lorelei sighed quietly, but other than that kept himself from speaking up.

"Yes sir! Big Boss, sir!"

Sakura waved shortly before leaving, and Lindow rubbed the back of his head before he resumed speaking.

"So anyway, that's about it, OK?"

"I understand… and… um… I'm Lorelei Yamato…"

"Lorelei huh? That's an interesting name you got there Rookie."

"Uh… yeah… I get that a lot."

"Well… I'm sending you right into battle now. But, I'll be accompanying you on this mission. Hey look at the time. We're gonna be heading out guys."

Lorelei nodded to that, and he tightened the glove on his left hand.

'Let's go.'

**City of Mercy**

Lorelei looked around at the city ruins from the entrance to the area, finding a strange beauty in the destruction, tragic as it may be.

"Boy, this place sure has seen better times, huh?"

"Yeah…"

Lorelei had an almost somber look on his face. Memories of his childhood were flashing through his head. He used to live in a city like this… before it was destroyed by Aragami. He wondered, what was life like here before the Aragami came and destroyed it? What did the people do? What were their lives like? What went through their heads as they saw their home be invaded?

'No… don't think like that… don't think about this negatively. Just stay focused on the mission.'

"Hey rookie, we're gonna start the simulation now. You got 3 orders… Don't die. If your number's up, get out. Lastly, hide. If you're lucky, catch the enemy off guard and blast it. Wait… is that 4?"

Lorelei just nodded.

"The bottom line is, you've got to survive. Just follow that order, and everything else will be fine."

"I got it. I'll watch what I do."

"All right, let's get this show on the road!"

Lindow jumped down first, and Lorelei readied his God Arc, jumping down after Lindow. The two moved through the quiet city carefully, listening for the sounds of the Aragami they were looking for. Lindow signaled for them to get up against the wall, and when he looked around, he spotted the target Ogretail.

"Alright rookie, the target's in sight. Get yourself ready, because even an Ogretail can be problematic, but thankfully, this one is alone, so it shouldn't be that hard."

"Got it."

Lorelei switched to gun form and moved out carefully while the Ogertail's back was turned, he aimed crafully and fired, the shot nailing the Ogretail's back, and the Aragami shot around with a growl, charging immediately.

"Crap!"

Lorelei rolled out of the way and swapped forms, the blade extending. The Ogretail then used it's tail as a lever and launched itself at him, and Lorelei blocked as quick as he could, getting pushed back from the force of the blow.

"You aren't gonna help me Lindow!?"

"You're doing fine! Get it next time it comes around! Just watch it carefully! I'll jump in when I see an opening!"

"Not much of a plan… but it's worth a try!"

Lorelei sidestepped again, and before the Ogretail could turn, he slashed its vulnerable side, a red spray following the blue blade with each slash. The Aragami still wasn't done though, and it charged again. Lindow rushed out and jabbed his own saw like blade into the Aragami's gaping wound, and Lorelei blasted it when Lindow rushed back, the beast falling. Lorelei was panting a bit after that.

"Man… even… one… like that… is tough…"

"You'll get used to it as you better rookie. Don't forget to take it's core. We need those."

"R-right."

Lorelei nodded as his God Arc shifted back to blade mode, then going into Devour Mode, letting the God Arc chomp it's way to the Aragami's core, it's own core shining once the job was done.

"And that's that. Pretty simple right rookie? You just kill the thing then take it's core. Not so hard. I mean, you still got stuff to learn but I can tell you've got talent. After all you are a New-Type."

"Thanks… I guess…"

"Haha. Alright, let's get back to base before it gets dark. I bet the Doc has got a lesson for you anyway."

**The Den/Paylor Sakaki's Lab**

Lorelei stepped past the open door and Paylor turned to him. Kota was already there as well.

"Ah, there you are."

"Sorry, we just got back."

"Oh it's fine, we're just about to start anyway."

Lorelei nodded and sat down in the nearest spot, resting his chin on his hands.

"Ahem. All right, let's jump in. What do you think an Aragami is?"

"Um… the predators to us human beings?"

"Haha… "the nemesis of humankind", "an absolute predator", "destroyer of the world"… Well, that about sums it up. Now then, these aren't misconceptions. Rather, you could simply say one has his eyes fixed on the phenomena before him. Okay, I have a question. Have you ever wondered how and why the Aragami came into being? As you probably know, the Aragami appeared out of nowhere one day. Since then, their numbers have exploded. Yep, as if they were ripping right through every evolutional process."

Kota yawned, and Lorelei was listening with rapt attention.

"Hey listen, does this lecture have a point? I mean, what do we care about the reason for the Aragami into existence?"

"Uh… Kota… behind you."

"Sure about that?"

"Whoa!?"

Kota yelped when Paylor seemed to just appear behind him, and Lorelei stifled a chuckle.

"An Aragami doesn't have a brain. Neither does it have a heart, nor spinal fluid. We frail humans will perish of we get blasted in the head or the chest… but that's not enough to bring down an Aragami."

"Yeah… on my mission earlier I slashed the Aragami several timed on its side, and the cuts were pretty deep, but it still took another stab _and _a blast to finally take it down."

"Exactly! You see, and Aragami is a cluster of Oracle Cells, each of which is a single-cell organism that thinks and preys on others."

"So… essentially, even a single, small Aragami is a cluster of thousands of Orcale Cells?"

"That's right, an Aragami is in itself a colony of thousands, make that, hundreds of thousands, of life forms. And this powerful, graceful fusion of cells can't be destroyed by conventional weapons - Not the ones we have anyway. So how on earth are you people supposed to battle these Aragami?"

"Um… let's see… just keep slashing and blasting them with our God Arc?"

"But… a God Arc in itself is _also _a cluster of Orcale cells… if I remember that correctly."

"Nerd."

"Hey at least I'm doing my research Kota."

"My, you two are interesting. But yes, the short answer is that using a God Arc, a bio-weapon embedded with the same Oracle Cells, is the only way to stop the fusing of and Aragami's Oracle Cells. However, this can also cause rouge cell colonies to re-fuse and become a new entity. The best thing to do would be to extract the Aragami core, the cell colony serving as a command center. But this is extraordinarily difficult to do. Even with God Arc, we have no way to deliver a decisive blow. Somewhere along the line, the people likened this absolute being to countless Gods that have been passed down around here, and they started to call it "Aragami". All right, that's it for today's lecture. I'd like you to refer to the Norn database in the terminal for more details about the Aragami. Understood?"

Lorelei nodded, and Kota just stretched his arms.

**Wailing Plains**

Lorelei looked out over the wetlands that made up the plains for the mission location as he approached Sakuya, his partner for this mission.

"You're the new recruit I met earlier. My name's Sakuya Tachibana. Nice to meet you."

"Lorelei Yamato. And, like wise."

"Lorelei… that's…"

"An interesting name. I know. I'm told that on a regular basis. Hagh, to this day I still don't understand why my parents gave me that name."

Lorelei shook his head, and looked out at the soaked landscape again.

"I don't know why, but I always find a strange beauty amid all of this… ngh… hell is I know."

"Hmm hmm. You seem to have an eye for the positive. Are you nervous?"

Lorelei had to nod. The look on his face betrayed it.

"You need to relax, or you'll find yourself freezing up at crucial times. All right, I'm going to brief you now. During this mission, you're going to be taking the lead. I'll be backing you up from the rear. This is basic strategy for teaming up with a God Eater with a long-distance God Arc, so don't forget it. And don't get too far ahead, always stay within firing range of your backup. OK?"

"Got it."

"Good, you do as you're told. I'm counting on you. All right, let's begin. Remember, out targets are two Cocoon Maidens, immobile Aragami that attack from a range."

"Okay… two Aragami rooted to the ground… doesn't sound too hard."

Lorelei lifted his hood to keep the rain off and jumped down, Sakuya following along as they trudged through the soaked landscape. After making their way around the center mass of land, the first Cocoon Maiden came into sight.

"Alright… there it is. Uh… amn, I don't feel comfortable giving an order to a superior…"

Sakuya chuckled at Lorelei's comment, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's all right. I can tell what you're going to say. I'll draw it's attention first with some fire, then you rush in to finish it off, right?"

Lorelei nodded silently, and Sakuya readied her God Arc, aiming down the barrel and rolling out, firing a shot that nailed the Cocoon Maiden's center, and the Aragami turned towards her, letting loose some quills. Lorelei jumped out and blocked the quills with his shield, and Sakura fired again, the Cocoon Maiden feeling that one _hard, _and it's softer center was revealed by it's shell. Lorelei jumped at the chance, charging and stabbing the weak point, ripping his blade free with an upwards slash that preety much bisected the Aragami, and he then extracted the core.

"Phew… one down… one to go."

"Hmm hmm, nice job Lorelei, that wasn't too bad. If we just use that same tactic against the next one this mission should be over before we know it."

Lorelei chuckled a bit with another nod as they started moving again, and Sakuya turned out to be right about the last enemy being easy.

**The Den/Lobby**

"Well… that last mission wasn't so hard."

Lorelei sat down on the couch, and Kota flopped down.

"Heh… well, you got lucky… I had to play back up. But at least I'm not the one who got soaked."

Kota smirked, and Lorelei rolled his eyes. True, he was thoroughly soaked and in desperate need of a shower, but he didn't feel that bad. True, an Aragami that couldn't even move was hardly much of a challenge when you planned it correctly, compared to an Ogretail, which had been a little tricky.

"Well, we are rookies… but… my next mission is gonna be with two other God Eaters. We'll be hunting a few Ogretails and a couple of Cocoon Maidens, so it'll be a bit tougher."

"Yeah… but hey, you're Mr. Optimist! And since you're a New-Type you can get close when you need to and blast the things when you need to do that! I'm sure you'll think of something!"

"Hahaha… thanks Kota."

"Don't mention it… but dude… you smell like swamp and Aragami guts… go take a shower man…"

"Hey you're not much better off!"


	3. Phase 1-3

Gods Eater Burst: Lorelei

**Just to make a few notes about Lorelei, his God Arc is set up with Clemencor, Silent Cry, and Tear Stone set, and his voice would be #10 from the character creation.**

* * *

**Phase 1-3: First Casualty**

**Sunken Grid**

Lorelei jumped down from the ledge overlooking the old factory district where today's mission was, heading to the point where he was to meet up with his partners for this sortie. What he found there was two other teens about his age, maybe a little older. One in some light getup with rather… expressive looks and long range God Arc, and the other with a buster blade type God Arc with dark skin and white hair barely seen under his hoodie. The more expressive looking fellow spotted Lorelei and ran over to him with a wave.

"Hey, are you that rookie we've been hearing so much about?"

Lorelei just nodded as the other teen flipped his short hair unendingly.

"I'm Eric. Eric der Vogelweid."

"Lorelei Yamato… and please don't ask about the name. It's been getting old lately."

"Hmm… I suggest you take your cues from me, and learn to battle gloriously for humankind."

The other teen however, spotted something and readied his God Arc.

"Eric! Above you!"

Lorelei shot back and an Ogretail pounced on Eric, the teen screaming as the creature tore into him, blood spraying with each bite, and Lorelei could only watch in stunned horror, his hands gripping his God Arc's handle tightly and his eyes wide.

"Don't just stand there!"

The pale haired teen rushed up and slashed the Ogretail multiple times, finishing the beast off… but what was left of Eric… Lorelei couldn't even look without wanting to vomit.

"Welcome to this godawful workplace. I'm Soma… but not that you need to remember that. Sorry to break it to you, but this kind of thing happens on a daily basis here."

Soma lowered his God Arc at Lorelei, and the other teen just stood silently, his face stoic.

"What kind of place did YOU think it was gonna be?"

Lorelei just looked down, and Soma gleaned a tiny smirk for a split second.

"Just kidding… Time's up. Let's go rookie. If you don't wanna die, just stay out of my way as much as possible."

Soma turned and went ahead. Lorelei looked back at the mess that was left, flipping his God Arc into gun form and following Soma. When they got to a corner section, their remaining four targets shot out of the ground, two Ogretails on the ground and two Cocoon Maidens on the platforms. Lorelei aimed down his barrel and fired at the Cocoon Maidens above to give Soma some cover, and Soma rushed for the nearest Ogretail, his saw like blade grinding through the beast with each slash. Lorelei slid underneath the other Ogretail as it tried to pounce at him, and he fired a series of rapid shots at the beasts underbelly, sending the Aragami tumbling, and Lorelei jumped and shoved his blade into the Ogretail in devour mode, finishing it off and quickly going back to work on the Cocoon Maidens from a range, and Soma had finished with his first target, not attacking the weaker Cocoon Maiden.

When the two were finished, Lorelei was panting quietly as he and Soma collected the Aragami cores and whatever materials they could find, and Lorelei was just staying quiet the whole time. He didn't really want to speak.

**The Den/Lorelei's Room**

Lorelei was sitting on his bed with his hood raised, and elbow on his knee, staring silently at the wall. He was still shaken up after having watched Eric's death. Just suddenly seeing somebody die… the least to say about it was that it was just traumatizing, especially with what the result had been. The door slid open and Kota peeked his head in.

"Uh… hey Lorelei? You okay dude?"

Lorelei just looked away.

"Um… good work man… and… I heard that your partner passed away."

Kota was trying to put it nicely. It must have been rough to just see someone get killed like that.

"Mmm… I just don't think it would do any good for both of us to be gloomy. Mmm… don't worry! Let's be more confident! We're invincible! Anyway, I just want to say… Let's try to buck up!"

Kota's attempt at cheering Lorelei up was… unsuccessful. Lorelei just pulled his hood further down over his face.

"Kota… don't say we're invincible… even if we are God Eaters… we're still human. I just… need a bit of time to process this…"

Kota sighed and mentally slapped himself. Of course that wouldn't have worked. When someone gets a slap of reality to the face in the way Lorelei did it was often hard to snap them out of it.

"Hey, Lindow seemed worried about you. He just went back to his room, so you should go see him!"

Lorelei looked up and Kota and nodded with a sigh, getting up and leaving, pulling his hood down. Kota sighed himself and went back to his room, worried for his friend.

Down in the veteran's section, Lorelei knocked on the door that lead to Lindow's room.

"It's open! Come one in!"

Lorelei pushed the button to open the door and entered, and he found Lindow on the couch.

"Hey rookie. Come on and take a seat."

Lorelei nodded and sat down, placing his elbows on his knees.

"Never had a comrade die in front of you huh? Come to think of it, we haven't really talked yet. I'm not much for talking… but is there something you want to ask me?"

"Yeah… just… what was Eric like? I only knew him for the span of a few seconds… then… well… you know."

"Eric… he was one of those rich kids. He could be bratty, but he was a good guy who looked after his sis. When you become a God Eater, you're mostly fighting against the weight of that responsibility. In his own way… he fought as hard as he could."

Lorelei could understand that a bit. He didn't really have any family left to protect… but he still felt responsible for doing what he could to make sure nobody else had to die.

"And… what about Soma? He's... I dunno… I heard rumors about him… that people tend to always die on whatever team he's on."

"Soma huh? He's one of the top God Eater's in the Far East Branch, but he's misunderstood because he's blunt. Mmm… well, you can't deny that he's a brat! But, I don't think you'll find a kinder person. His worst fear is losing a comrade right before his eyes. That's why he always keeps his distance. Right! So I'm ordering you to make friends with him and keep from ever dying! So you see… I don't want you to be too hard on him. Got that?"

"Yeah… I understand… I'll try. And… how's Kota been? Anything else you can tell me about him? We haven't talked much over the past couple of days."

"Yes, that classmate of yours is a good guy. Hard to believe anyone could be raised right these days. Guess we should give credit to the way his parents raised him. There's no greater treasure than comrades you can get along with! Take good care of them!"

"I'll… do my best..."

Lindow went and out a hand on Lorelei's shoulder, a supportive smile on his face.

"Right… both you and Kota still have a lot to learn technically. Survive a while and you'll do fine. I'm counting on you… just don't get killed, got that?"

"Got it."

Lindow smiled a bit more, and the two just kept talking throughout the day, and Lorelei was finding Lindow's advice and general attitude… rather helpful. Sure Kota's attitude often had the same effect, but the other boy wasn't so great with execution. The effect of Eric's was going to remain, but Lorelei was feeling a bit better about it, and his drive to make sure nobody died on him again was just furthered.

**Next Day/The Den/Lobby**

Kota and Lorelei were by the gate, getting ready for their first mission working together, and this one, well, they were being sent to take out a Kongou, and from what Lorelei had researched beforehand, it was tough, but, if the two worked together well enough they should have too much trouble.

"Hey… um.. are we heading out together this time?"

"Yep. And our target's a tough one, but I did my research, so I've got a plan."

"Phew… okay… man if it weren't for you being a nerd we'd be finished."

"Hey! I'm not a nerd! I'm just trying to make sure I know what we're up against!"

"Whatever you say. But, glad we both survived! That's all that matters in our line of work right?"

"Yeah I guess you could say that."

"I don't know what my mom or sister would do if anything happened to me, so I've gotta out. What about you Lorelei? You got any family?"

"Uh… my mom and dad died during an Aragami attack when I was little… it's why I chose to become a God Eater in the first place."

"Oh… man I am so sorry… I… probably shouldn't have asked."

"No… it's fine. I needed to tell someone anyway."

Kota rubbed the back of his head, kind of regretting having asked anyway.

"Hey, by the way… you know Sakuya don't?"

"Hmm? Uh, yeah. I've been on a couple of missions with her and Lindow."

"Oh really? Are you two close?"

"Eh… not really."

"She's really pretty don't you think? Good-looking, friendly, and strong… Like and Amazon warrior! How hot is that!? All right! I'm getting all pumped up here!"

"You and I obviously have some different preferences."

Lorelei chuckled and rolled his eyes as Kota got a sneaky grin.

"Oh really? Then what kind of girl do you like huh?"

"Uh… well… I dunno… I've never really thought about that kind of thing much… I'm not sure at all… I guess… man I have no idea."

Lorelei's face went beet red, and Kota chuckled.

"Hey, someone will come around one day dude. Now, let's see who can take out the most enemies during this mission!"

"There's only one main target."

"Either way, I'm gonna show that Sakuya how awesome I am!"

Lorelei smiled and shrugged. There was no changing Kota's mind now.

**Tranquil Temple**

Lorelei shivered a bit at the cold within the snow strewn temple complex he and Kota had arrived at.

"Man, I should've worn a thermal jacket."

"Sp-speak f-for y-yourself! I-I'm f-f-f-freezing! At least you _have _a jacket on!"

Kota was shaking like a leaf, his knuckles white on his God Arc, and Lorelei chuckled.

"You'll warm up once we start fighting the thing. Now, our enemy is a Kongou, an Aragami that looks like a monkey. Its weak spot is it's mask like face, so when we can dodge it's attacks, try to aim there. And if we spot anything else like Ogretails… well, you know what to do."

"G-g-got it… I-i-I'll try to aim… through… this... sh-shivering!"

Lorelei chuckled again and took the lead. When the two made it up the first set of stairs, Lorelei could hear heavy footsteps up ahead, and he peed around the corner, spotting two Ogretails ahead.

"Alright, two Ogretails at twelve o'clock. Get ready for some action."

Kota nodded and readied his God Arc.

"On three… one… two… three!"

Loreleu closed his hand and rolled out, firing at the first Ogretail along with Kota, and while the suppressive fire was laid down Lorelei dashed forward, stabbing the Ogretail through its jaws, ripping the blade through with the core in tow. They repeated this process with the second Ogretail, taking it down quickly.

"Hahaha! Awesome!"

Lorelei chuckled at Kota's enthusiasm as they kept moving, taking out the last Ogretail in the area at the top of the next flight of stairs with ease as well.

"Alright! Three down, one to go!"

"And next we're looking for the Kongou. You ready Kota?"

"Ready as I'll ever be! Let's get a move on and find this thing!"

Lorelei nodded and they kept moving around, listening carefully for any signs of the simian like Aragami. When a search in the temple itself proved fruitless, they began moving back to the square, and that's when they heard movement. Lorelei directed them to take cover, and both looked around their corners.

"Man, you weren't lying when you said the thing looks like a monkey."

Lorelei nodded to that. The Kongou indeed looked like a massive monkey with pipes on its back, and Lorelei assumed it used those for attacks.

"Alright… it hasn't noticed us yet, so we can surprise it. Ites face is weak to attacks and so is its tail, and I think if we can break those pipes on its back we'd be able to do more damage."

"Roger that."

On Lorelei's signal, Kota shot out and let out a hail of fire at the Kongou, drawing it's attention as Lorelei moved up to higher ground so he could get above the beast.

"Hurry it up Lorelei! Whoa!"

Kota dodge a rolling attack from the Kongou, and Lorelei stopped right at a ledge overlooking the area.

"Alright Kota! Help me lure it over here!"

"Easy for you to say!"

Kota jumped back as a blast of deadly wind was shot from the Kongou's pipes, and Lorelei took aim himself, firing a laser shot and nailing the Aragami in the face. The Kongou growled and turned towards its next assailant, charginf forward, just as Lorelei expected.

"Alright! Here I go!"

Lorelei jumped down from his perch, aiming his blade down as the Kongou stopped, switching to devour mode and slamming down onto the Kongou's back, the jaws of his God Arc tearing through the pipes.

"Nice one!"

Lorelei snickered and jumped off the Kongou's back, a faint glow about him thanks to the power up from his God Arc going into burst mode, and he lashed out at the now wounded Kongou, tearing his blade across its face as Kota aimed for it's now vulnerable back, pelting it with elemental shots. The Kongou roared in rage and swatted Lorelei aside, the boy rolling in the air and landing with a skid, switching to gun mode.

"Kota let's finish it off!"

"I hear ya!"

Both boys aimed as the Kongou seemed to try and decide who to aim for, and when the two fried, it moved out of the way and the boys had to dodge their own shots. The Kongou jumped up to ledge and ran off, and Lorelei growled.

"It's heading up to the temple! Let's take separate sides and flank it! If we don't catch it, then we'll corner it inside!"

Kota nodded and the two ran off, following the path up to the temple, following the sound of the Kongou's footsteps. They didn't catch up until the beast was inside, but that just worked to their favor.

"Alright, Kota, hit it with some mortar shots, and when it's down, I'll finish it off and take the core, and then we can head back."

"Sounds like a plan! Let's wrap this up! I don't want to miss my show anyway!"

Lorelei chuckled and they moved inside. The Kongou was chomping down on some debris, and Kota snickered, firing a mortar shot that slammed into the beasts back, knocking it into the wall. Lorelei ended it by stabbing through the Kongou's mask, and the beast twitched for a bit before falling still. Lorelei extracted the core and let out a sigh, and then he and Kota slapped a high five.

"Awesome! Man that was intense! But you seem to have a penchant for stabbing through their heads Lorelei."

"Eh, it's the best way to get to the core. I bet ol' Doctor Sakaki's got another lecture for us. Whoo boy."

Kota sighed with a nod.

"That's the one thing I'm not looking forward to."

"Hey, we made it out today, that's all that matters, right?"

Kota nodded and laughed at that, and Lorelei just snickered as they made their way back out into the cold, hurrying to get back to the pickup point.

**The Den/Paylor's Lab**

Lorelei and Kota were seated on the couch again, Paylor in front of them standing with a screen behind him.

"Have you ever heard the term "arcology"? Arcology means "a building completely self-contained and self-sufficient in production and consumption" Yep… this Fenrir branch, with The Den at its center, can be thought of as a type of arcology. To put it in extreme terms, with the exception of a certain branch, should the entire Fenrir Corp. collapse, this one remaining branch will be able to live on exactly as it did before, by taking full care of production and consumption on its own. The Den has a fully equipped plant below for producing food, God Arc, and various other materials, and it boasts a solid defensive capacity. With and Anti-Aragami armored Wall along its perimeter, not to mention you top-notch God Eaters, among other things. That's the Fenrir branch in a nutshell. It's a highly advanced arcology project optimized to protect humankind. But, there's still one issue that plagues us… it can only house a limited number of people at any given time. As I'm sure you all know, there has been a vast Outer Ghetto surrounding the Far East Branch. But, the fact is, we still don't have enough space to house them all here. I'm afraid the best we can do is to surround the Outer Ghetto with an Anti-Aragami Armored Wall."

After this, Kota spoke up.

"But do you think that's enough? I hear the armor has been compromised a lot lately."

"Well, that's why we have the God Eater Defense Unit posted there. Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot your family lives in the Outer Ghetto. Forgive me so sounding so flippant."

"Oh, no, I just…"

'So that's why Kota looks concerned.'

Lorelei felt kind of sorry for Kota. He had a family to worry about and make sure was safe… and Lorelei only had himself to look after outside of his fellow God Eaters. It must have worn down on Kota a lot, and it made Lorelei feel a little guilty because of it.

"Actaully, there was a plan to expand The Den downward, and build another Inner Residential Section."

"But, the Aegis Project improved on that plan and made it even safer, right?"

"Yes. At this time, most of the resources from the Far East Branch's underground plant are being allocated to Aegis Construction. Why don't we talk about that another time?"

The two teens left, and out in the hall, Lorelei sighed.

"I feel kind of guilty now."

Kota lifted an eyebrow and looked back.

"Whaddya mean?"

"I don't have any family to worry about unlike you. I only have myself to watch out for, so I don't have to worry. But you Kota, you have a weight on your shoulders I don't have. I don't know… it just makes me feel guilty sense I don't have that responsibility like you do."

"Hey man don't sweat it, it's alright. I honestly don't mind. If you have less to worry about it means you can do your job better. But hey let's not be gloomy! We were awesome out there today!"

"Yep. That Kongou didn't even stand a chance!"

"Hahaha! You got that right!"

Lorelei laughed along as they kept talking, but, deep down, he still felt kind of guilty. He couldn't understand how worried Kota may have been, and it worried him to. If something bad happen… who knew what would happen to Kota?


	4. Phase 1-4

Gods Eater Burst: Lorelei

**Here's an image to give you a good idea of Lorelei's appearance, just the fact he's got darker hair obviously:**

** img2. wikia. Nocookie _ cb20131208080148 / godeater / images / 4 / 4d / Yuu _ kanagi. Png**

**And I also got an idea for an opening theme!  
watch?v=iuV8Jd3au8A**

* * *

**Phase 1-4: More missions...**

**The Den/Lobby**

Sakuya was watching a news broadcast being shown on the screen, showing the end of yet another protest… as if there weren't enough.

"Next… this year saw more demonstrations by protesters. This morning, and anti-Fenrir protest was held in front of all global branches. The demonstration was led by a group comprised mainly of people from the Outer-Ghetto. Calling on Fenrir to increase rationing, reinforce defenses, and increase hiring, the protesters marched for approximately two hours then dispersed fairly peacefully."

Sakuya shook her head a bit and turned, spotting Lorelei walking down the stairs a bit off.

"Hey, Lorelei, this way, this way!"

"Oh, morning Sakuya."

Lorelei walked over to the older God Eater, putting his hands behind his head.

"I'm hearing good things about you! You're exceeding expectations, they can't praise you enough!"

"Ehehe… I'm just doing my job… that's all."

Lorelei had a bit of a sheepish look now, and Sakuya giggled at it a bit. Lorelei wasn't really used to praise, so he just felt really embarrassed.

"But, uh, try not to overdo it, okay? You see… the greatest God Eaters… tend to die young."

"Meaning I've got a long life ahead of me, is that what you're saying?"

The two turned to see Lindow.

"Keeping executive's hours as usual?"

"Sure, because I'm an executive! All right, another day of fun work, guys! It's gonna be the three of us today. I'll take the lead. Sakuya, you're the backup."

"Roger."

"And rookie, you're the commando. Show us what a New-Type can do… remember you're training."

"Understood."

Lindow's phone started to go off, and he took it out and looked at the screen.

"Anything else?"

"Well, um… don't die, all right?"

"Thank you for your very thorough orders, Big Boss."

Lindow smirked a bit, and Lorelei chuckled quietly.

**Sunken Grid**

Lindow, Sakuya, and Lorelei jumped down into the abandoned factory, and Lorelei's look grew sullen as they started moving.

"Lorelei? You okay?"

Sakuya looked back at Lorelei with a bit of a concerned look, and the teen looked down a bit.

"Just… this is where Eric died… so… I don't exactly like this place much."

Lindow angled his head to look back at Lorelei, and he slowed a bit.

"Hey rookie, don't let it bother you. Remember what I told you before. All that matters right now is that you survive and live on. Besides, I don't think Eric would be happy if you died on his account anyway. SO buck on up!"

Lorelei sighed a nodded a bit, gripping his God Arc a bit more. After the group did a routine sweep of the area, taking out a couple of Ogretails, they entered the torn apart factory where the area was green.

"Wow… I had no idea this was here when I came here earlier."

Lorelei looked around at the lush area, a look of awe on his face. Lindow and Sakuya chuckled as Lorelei looked around carefully.

"Don't mean to tell me you've never seen a place like this rookie?"

"C'mon Lorelei, you have to at least have seen something similar when you were growing up."

Lorelei looked away with a shy look, his face reddening.

"Uh… no… Up until I was about seven, I'd only ever lived in cities. I was born in the far west region and then we came here… and I've been on my own since I was seven. So… I didn't really get to see a lot of actual nature. It's just… I don't have any words."

Sakuya chuckled and walked over to Lorelei as the boy kneeled down next to some white flowers.

"Hehehe. Well, places like this are rare to find, so we tend to enjoy them when we do."

Lorelei nodded in silent approval, and he swore he heard something, and he stood up with his God Arc ready. From the water in front of them burst out the Gboro Gboro they were here to get, the fish like Aragami slamming to the ground in front of Lorelei, roaring before attacking. Lorelei rolled out of the way and the beast bounced up through a hole in the wall, a few shots from Sakuya hitting it's tail.

"Follow me! It's heading towards the platforms!"

Lindow rushed out after the beast, Lorelei and Sakuya following. Once the three caught up to the Gboro Gboro, it turned and roared, letting loose a blast of boiling water that Lorelei caught with a heated mortar blast, creating a mist that disoriented the Aragami.

"Nice move rookie! Let's take it out!"

"Roger!"

Lindow and Lorelei shot forward with blades ready, Sakuya providing cover fire from above, and when Lorelei and Lindow finally began tearing into the beast, it wasn't long until it went down, being finished off by a dual stab from the two.

"Alright! Nice work you guys!"

Lindow pried his balde out of the still Aragami and stepped off it, Lorelei jumping down as well, having extracted the core.

"Well, that's today's job done and over with."

"Haha! You got that right! Now, let's head back to base."

Lorelei nodded and looked back towards the center, a small smile on his face.

'Glad to know that there are still places that beautiful in this world full of chaos.'

**City of Mercy**

The entirety of the First Unit was gathered at the drop off point within the city ruins, doing something to pass the time while they waited for Lindow, and Lorelei was watching the sky, a regular thing he'd do at the start of each mission nowadays by suggestion of Lindow, and he found it helped. Lindow finally arrived, and everyone turned to him.

"Hey, it's another great day to work! Return to base safe and sound, that's all!"

"Huh? That's it?"

"You won't last long if you keep questioning him like that."

"What a drag."

Lindow took note that Lorelei was staying quiet, even though the kid never spoke much to begin with.

"Good to see that except for one of us, our souls are all connected."

Everyone else looked towards Lorelei, and he looked down a bit, his look darkening.

"Ha ha! I'm just kidding. And don't looks so sad. This is the first 4-person mission these members have performed. Just do what you always do."

"Huh? Wait, what about you Lindow?"

"Well, you see, I've been asked on a secret date right after this. So it's just gonna be the four of you today."

Lindow pulled out his phone and checked it, and Lorelei raised an eyebrow.

"If I don't get there in time, my date will get mad and leave. Talk about impatient! I'm taking off now guys. My orders are as usual: Don't die. Make sure you come back alive."

"They're your own orders. Better make sure you follow then yourself."

Try not to stay out to late, Lindow, okay?"

Lindow nodded and walked off, and Lorelei tightened the glove on his left hand.

"All right, let's go!"

Sakuya jumped down first, the other three following shortly after.

"We've got four targets, if we split up then we can make the search easy. If things get harry then contact someone for help. Got it?"

Everyone nodded to that since Lorelei was taking the lead, and they all split off from there. After a bit of snooping around, and then the sounds of the others finding a target, most likely the Zygotes, started sounding in the background.

"Great… so that leaves the Kongou for me."

Lorelei sighed as he switched to gun form to be safe as he entered the large square, scanning around carefully. When he looked up at a ruined sky scraper, he spotted the Kongou moving out, and he quickly took aim, opening fire with ice shots to slow the thing down. The ape like beast growled and tumbled down to the ground, aiming a punch at Lorelei, and he dodged out of the way, slashing the Kongou as he moved. The resulting slash managed to damage the Kongou's tail rather easily, and Lorelei took the opportunity when the Kongou was stunned to dash off towards the nearest source of gun fire, which happened to be coming from Kota, who was having a bit og a tricky time nailing the Zygote in the air.

"I got this one Kota!"

Azrael jumped up and impaled the Zygote on his sword, landing on the ground and literally ody surfing on the Zygote before he tore his blade free, jumping off before the limp Aragami corpse could crash into the wall, panting a bit.

"Whoa, talk about an entrance!"

"Save it Kota! I found the Kongou… back in the square… I managed to stun it… so, how about teaming up again, eh? I'm sure Soma and Sakuya can deal with those last two Zygotes just fine knowing them."

"I hear ya Lorelei! Let's take that monkey down!"

Lorelei chuckled and he and Kota moved back to the square, where the Kongou was now scanning around.

"Alright, let's pound the thing with suppressive fire and then once there's an opening, I'll use my typical finishing move and off the thing as quickly as possible."

"Gotcha."

Lorelei switched to gun mode, and Kota rolled out before him, firing some hard hitting shots while Lorelei went for his usual rapid fire suppression. The Kongou roared in rage as it was continually pelted, trying to use it's arms as a shield, but, considering the amount of shots it was getting pelted with, it eventually reeled back.

"Lorelei take it now!"

Lorelei nodded and rushed forward as the Knogou fell to it's belly, it's face wide open for an attack, and just as his blade pierced the mask, it shifted to devour mode and the core was out in a matter of seconds.

"Well, I'd say that's our fastest take down yet!"

Lorelei snickered as he set his God Arc across his shoulders, and when the last sounds of fighting died down and Sakuya and Soma arrived to find the two rookie God Eaters smiling like idiots and waving at them atop the Kongou body, even Soma had a small grin at their enthusiasm.

"My, you two are rather impressive. How long did this take hmm?"

Sakuya asked the question with her typical smile, and Lorelei and Kota looked between each other.

"Eh… a couple minutes at best. Once I got an open I pulled my usual move of stabbing through it's face to get to the core and boom! Done!"

"Yeah you should've seen it! We were all boom, bang, tatatatatata! And the Kongou was all RWAAAAAR! And then Lorelei rushed forward and shing! The things done for!"

Sakuya chuckled as Kota gave the description, and Soma shook his head.

**The Den/Lobby**

When the four got out of the elevator, Lindow was already waiting on the couch in front.

"So, you made it back before us. Good work today."

"Yeah, I managed to wrap things up early. How'd you guys do?"

"As per your command - same as usual."

"Right. We fulfilled out mission, and didn't lose anyone."

"You should've seen us! Brilliant teamwork – we were so tight!"

"I don't remember you being of much use… and besides, we didn't meet up with you and Lorelei until _after _you guys had beaten the Kongou, and I bet Lorelei did most of the work."

Kota yelped and his shoudlers sagged, and Lorelei sighed with a chuckle, putting his arms behind his head.

"Is that right? Then I guess it won't hurt to go on more dates in the future."

"Aren't you supposed to hook me up with some girls first?"

"Huh! Right, like you'd be able to handle a girl!"

"Kota, what is it with you and girls?"

"Aw shut it Lorelei! Besides, you don't even _try _when it comes to girls!"

"Yeah, because I don't _want _to! I don't see a point right now!"

"Well, between the two of you, I'd say Lorelei would have a _much _better chance than you Kota."

Lindow chuckled when the two rookies stopped their scuffle, Kota stuck in a headlock.

"Huh?"

The PA went off, and everyone looked up.

"Staff announcement. Eariler today, the 7th Unit successfully detached the core of an Ouroboros. All engineers, please come to Lab No. 5. Repeat, Ouroboros core successfully detached. All engineers, come to Lab No. 5."

Lorelei raised an eyebrow, and Kota asked the question on his mind.

"What's an Ouroboros? Is it powerful?"

"It'll pop up if you search the terminal. Do your homework once in a while!"

Lorelei suddenly remembered what the Aragami in question was. It was a massive, almost indescribable Aragami that rarely showed up, so the cores of them were very valuable.

"Well… uh… I don't think the four of us are ready to take one of those on yet."

"What!? Are you serious!? Not even a team like ours!?"

"One or two casualties, definitely."

"I actually read up on it a bit… they're gigantic and powerful as all get out… so we'd really need to sharpen up and be smart about it if we _do _wind up fighting one."

"Hey come on. If we can survive somehow, we'll get it one of these days. No need to worry about it now… just focus on staying alive."

"You know, that lines getting really old."

"Right. And I'll say it to you till I'm blue in the face. You'd probably head off to your own death if I wasn't watching."

"Dam you… shut up."

"Oo, yes sir! Okay, I've got another date coming up, so I'm going for a hearty meal!"

The others watched Lindow leave, and Lorelei notably sighed. For some reason, he was more concerned about the Ouroboros, and he went off to his room to go and do some more research… for no reason in particular. More so, he just needed to occupy himself by cramming his head full of information.


	5. Phase 1-5

God Eater Burst: Lorelei

**Phase 1-5: The next New-Type**

**City of Mercy**

Soma was trekking through the ruins on yet another solo mission, and when he neared the old office area, he could've sworn he spotted someone head into the old church.

"Someone there?"

Soma made his way inside carefully and looked around, but he didn't see anything, and he lifted his God Arc to his shoulder and walked to the center of the room.

"I imagined it."

Soma's phone went off, and he answered.

"This is Soma… So far no contact with the target… we'll continue to investigate."

Soma left after that, but, unbeknownst to him, somebody was watching up above as he left.

**The Den/Lobby**

Lorelei stretched his arms, having just returned from his latest mission.

"Man, those Ogertails sure can be a hassle."

"Hey! Lorelei!"

Kota ran up to Lorelei, ecstatic about something.

"Hmm?"

"Hey, do you know what an Ouroboros is."

"Uh… yeah… It's a massive Aragami with innumerable tentacles and eyes… they often call it the "Conquer of the Plains". Or something like that."

"Ah man! And after I did all that research I thought I'd be able to stump you!"

Lorelei chuckled and patted Kota on the back, moving down the stairs and to the lower section, spotting Soma.

"Hey there Soma!"

"Oh… you… hey, by any chance, have you ever felt someone's presence around the old office ruins?"

Lorelei contemplated that for a second.

"Hmm… well, if I'm on a solo mission, then, sometimes, yeah."

"I see… it's usually when I'm on a solo mission too… But if it's a non-God Eater… Damn, that means extra work for me… Maybe I'll hand it off to the research unit. Oh, by the way New-Type, Lindow was looking for you. He should be in his room."

"Oh… Thanks Soma!"

Lorelei went back up and down to the Veterans Section in the elevator, knocking on Lindows door.

"Come on in!"

Lorelei entered, and Lindow looked back at him from the window.

"Hey there rookie. Hey…. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Sure. What do you need me to do huh?"

Lorelei leaned on the window next to Lindow, paying close attention.

"A new God Eater will be assigned to the branch soon. Probably another New-Type God Arc user. I can't prove it, but out Director seems to be gathering New-Type God Eaters to the Far East Branch. Which brings me to my request. If he ever says anything about that to you, could you let me know? … Sure I could just ask him myself, but I find it hard to talk to that guy. But, only if you feel like it. If it's confidential, you don't need to reveal it, but I'll give you a reward for that."

Lorelei sighed a bit, but then nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll keep an ear listening just in case. Though I will admit, I find the director kinda intimidating."

Lindow laughed and patted Lorelei on the back, and the New-Type sighed again.

**The Den/ Lobby**

The 1t Unit was gathered on the floor above, and Lorelei could hear some conversation from below.

"Did you hear? They're assigning another New-Type."

"Oh? That's news to me. There's been a flood of New-Types lately, huh?"

"I hear the director brought her over himself, from the Russia Branch."

"Hey, speak of the devil."

Lorelei snapped back to himself, shaking his head as Tsubaki showed up with someone else beside her, a silver haired girl that he didn't quite recognize as he stood up with the others, his eyes still locked on the new God Eater, as he assumed.

"I have an introduction to make. This is a New-Type recruit; she'll be joining your ranks today."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Alisa Ilinichia Amiealla. As of 1200 hours today, I've been transferred here from the Russia Branch. I look forward to working with you."

"Hey, girls are more than welcome here anytime… YEOW!"

Kota was elbowed by Lorelei, who let out a sigh, and Alisa seemed to get a little ticked off by Kota's attitude.

"I'm amazed that you've survived around here so long with that frivolous attitude…"

"Huh?"

"He's not that bad a God Eater truth be told… just a little flippant."

Lorelei but in his own input on the subject, doing his best to defend his friend.

"And, I'm Lorelei Yamato, the other New-Type in this branch. Nice to meet you Alisa… and, please don't ask about my name."

Lorlei said that last part right as Alisa was about to ask the now old question, and she let out a short huff.

"She doesn't have much experience in actual combat, but her scores in the simulated battle were quite stellar. You'd better tain hard or she'll soon surpass you."

"Y-yes ma'am."

Lorelei crossed his arms and he had that contemplative look he would get sometimes.

'Simulations aren't real battles, hope she knows that simulations scores don't mean squat in the field. They're just numbers.'

Lorelei thought that mainly because of experience. He'd made top marks in the simulator as well… but a real battle was much different than a simulator, mainly for the fact you could actually _die, _and real Aragami are much more aggressive.

"Alisa, I want you to serve under Lindow's supervision. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Lindow, I need to hand off some documents to you, so come with me. The rest of you can go back to your quarters. That's all."

Lorelei watched Lindow and Tsubaki leave, and Kota tried to start up a conversation with Alisa.

"H-hey… so you're from Russia? Is it freezing over there? Oh but, I guess with all the global warming these days I guess temperatures are getting higher."

"Y'know, Kota, I'm starting to see what Lindow meant a while back."

"What are you talking about Lorelei?"

"Nothing."

Kota growled a bit as Lorelei put his arms behind his head and looked to the side. Alisa looked between the other two rookies, and let out a bit of a sigh.

"One thing you should learn here Alisa… best not to question a lot of things."

Lorelei spoke up, and it caught Alisa's attention.

"Especially our leader. You'll find out what I mean eventually."

Alisa raised an eyebrow and Lorelei gleaned that familiar grin he was known for nowadays before heading off.

"He tends to leave things hanging around. Lorelei likes to be intriguing for some reason. But, he's not a bad guy once you get to know him. I'd say he's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet."

"Yeah! And he's an amazing God Eater! On his last mission he took down _six _Aragami! By himself! Is that crazy or what?"

Alisa looked over at the elevator where Lorelei had disappeared, a little intrigued by the enigma that was presented by her fellow New-Type, but, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Someone like him? How in the world could he be such a skilled God Eater… well, she'd have to see for herself.

**Infernal Subway**

Lorelei sidestepped another blow from the Chi You, growling a bit.

"Yeesh, we just had to get separated when this thing showed up huh?"

The Chi You flapped it's wing like arms again and dashed at Lorelei, who jumped up and landed on the things back, driving his sword through it's damaged torso and directly through it's core, the beast crashing to the ground as Lorelei jumped off and rolled to a stop.

"Well, that went by faster than I expected."

Loreli groaned a bit when he saw he was caked in the Aragami's blood, his white shirt under his jacket stained crimson.

"Great, that's gonna take a while to get out. Good thing I have a spare."

Kota, Sakuya, and Soma ran up to where he was, and Lorelei waved.

"So, what took you guys so long? I had enough time to finish this thing off."

"Man you just keep bagging this tough Aragami left and right dude! Save some of the awesome kills for me!"

"You snooze you lose Kota."

Kota stamped his foot and Lorelei chuckled. These antics never got old for him.

**The Den/Paylor's Lab**

The lectures now had the addition of Alisa to the group, so, truth be told, Paylor was glad to have another student, and he was ignoring the fact Kota was sleeping since the two New-Types were paying attention.

"As I mentioned before, the Oracle cells which comprise and Aragami will eat anything. Not just life-forms like animals or plantsbut also minerals and synthetic resins, like plastic. It will even devour nuclear waste, known to be toxic to normal life forms."

"So, essentially Aragami are like, super omnivores."

"Yes! That's a good way to put it Lorelei. They'll even devour buildings, solid earth, you name it… see, this is what happens."

An image of the city ruins showed up, and Lorelei crossed his arms.

'Sheesh, they really will eat anything.'

"As a result, the environment as we know it – '"leftovers", so to speak – is diminishing t a high rate."

The image changed to an older picture of trees Lorelei recognized from memories, sakura trees. He knew about them from a book he'd found one time.

"In this area, people were once known to view cherry blossoms in spring, and maple leaves in autumn. But by now, there's no hope of ever doing that."

Lorelei sighed heavily. He still had the image of the green area in the Sunken Grid area. One of the last natural areas in the world, and it was smack in the middle of deadly territory.

"Meanwhile, the Aragami tend to occasionally take on the qualities of the things they've eaten. Recently, some Aragami have been actually discovered photosynthesizing. 79% nitrogen, 21% oxygen… Despite the fact we have only a third of the plants that existed in the world 20 years ago, somehow, the air of this planet has been preserved. Don't you find it extremely ironic that we owe this phenomenon to the Aragami's photosynthesis?"

As he said this, Paylor walked over to Kota, and then tapped the boy on the head to wake him up.

"Ugh… Mom, I can't eat anymore."

Lorelei snickered a bit under his breath.

"Really! He has no sense of duty whatsoever!"

"You'll learn to get used to it. I, on the other hand, find it a bit refreshing to have somebody so lax around this typically uptight place."

"You're no better than he is half the time."

"Take a look at my combat record and say that again."

Alisa huffed and crossed her arms.

"Listen, people – have you ever heard of the term "Nova's Devouring Apocalypse"?"

"Yes… after the Aragami battle among themselves… The Extinction of Humankind is triggered by Nova, an entity grown so huge it can swallow up the entire planet."

"Exactly. No one even knows who first spoke of this event. And some people have dismissed it as an idle rumor."

The now awake Kota finally spoke up, having heard that bit.

"But once the Aegis Project is complete, we'll be safe from even that."

Paylor was quiet for a second, then spoke again.

"Do you know what kind of animal a dog is?"

"Huh?"

"Their numbers are quickly dwindling, but even now you can see some dogs existing around the Outer Ghetto. Dogs are intelligent… they may not be able to speak or understand specific words, but they can communicate with humans. If an Aragami takes on the qualities of a dog, then perhaps we can find a way to co-exist."

"Co-exist?"

Lorelei rolled his eyes at the way Alisa asked that. Not another pessimist!

"Of course, from a communication standpoint, we're not limited to dogs. Long ago, you could watch an animal tamer manipulate wild beasts in a tent called a circus."

"But there's no way that we can ever get along with Aragami…"

"Hey, who knows? One day there might even wind up being a human like Aragami that we could actually speak to."

"Now that would be an interesting subject. Where did you get that idea Lorelei?"

"I… don't know actually. But hey, it's something positive to look at. Maybe we might be able to, who knows?"

"You're insufferable."

"You're not much different missy."

Alisa shot around and the two New-Types got into a stare down, and Paylor chuckled.

"Those two are going to have quite an interesting relationship down the line."

**City of Mercy**

Lorelei and Alisa were at the ledge as Lindow approached, their blue and red God Arcs making an odd contrast and symmetry. There was an odd tension about the two teens, most likely due to the fact they were constantly flip flopping between small arguments and actual conversations. Lindow had to admit though, Lorelei could be quiet the snarker when he had to, and the snark to snark combat that often occurred between him and Alisa now had become quite the sight.

"Ah… I'm working with you two New-Types today. I'll try not to get in your way, so don't mind me."

"If you ask me, Old-Types should just stick to what Old-Types are capable of doing."

"Ugh… and here she goes again. Just because a God Eater is an Old-Types doesn't mean they'll be useless Alisa. In fact, some of them are better than us."

"Hmph!"

"Hahaha… nice to see you two are getting along swimmingly. And I'll see what I can do to live up to your expectations!"

Lindow placed a hand on Alisa's shoulder, and the girl reeled back as if she'd been shocked.

"Whoa… I can see you _really _can't stand me."

"Oh… I-I'm sorry! It's nothing. I'm fine…"

"Hahaha… just kidding. Hmm… Let's see… listen up, Alisa. When things get chaotic, look up at the sky. Then find a cloud that looks like an animal. That will help you to chill. Until then, stay here. That's an order. Afterwards, I want you to join us over there. Got that?"

"B-but why should I do such a thing?"

"Remember when I said not to question him Alisa? This is what I meant. And, trust me, it helps. I've had my fair share of problems, and, well, it does help a bit to just look at the sky. So, just look for a cloud, okay?"

Lorelei had his smile back, and Alisa found he wasn't aiming any sarcasm at her this. He was genuinely trying to be nice.

"You are such an odd person… I can't even get a proper read on you…"

"Hahahaha! Well, that'd make you the first Alisa. Normally people can read me like a freaking book!"

Lorelei jumped down after Lindow and Alisa sighed, but, she did as told and looked up to find a cloud. After a bit of trekking with no sight of their target, Lindow spoke again.

"There's something about that kid… she seems to have a lot of baggage… Still, these days, who doesn't have some kind of tragedy in their lives?"

"Yeah, that's a good point. We all have some kind of weight on our shoulders."

"Lorelei… since you're a New-Type like her… try to look out for her. Alright? Which means cutting with the snark."

Lorelei sighed a bit, but otherwise, he nodded.

"I'll do my best. Though her personality is definitely a little troublesome to deal with. But, maybe there's a reason behind it, so, I guess I can look past it and be friendlier."

"Cool. Come on then!"

The two proceeded through the city for a while until they got to the remains of an old ghetto section, and the two Chi Yous they were after jumped down.

"Well… two of them… one for each of us."

"These are good odds. Alright Lorelei, you take the one on the right, and I'll take the one on the left."

"You're just taking the weaker looking one."

"Well you're the New-Type. Besides, you took one of these things down before, right?"

"Uh… yeah… with a little bit of help. Not much though."

"Well then you should do fine! Alright, here they come!"

Lindow and Lorelei dodged as the Chi Yous attacked, and the one Lorelei was aiming actually grabbing him.

"Dammit! Well, guess this could help a bit!"

Lorelei switched to gun form and shoved the barrel right in the Chi You's face, opening fire with a storm of point blank freeze shots. The Chi You let out a shriek and released Lorelei, crashing to the ground and holding its head. Lorelei rolled to a stop behind a piece of rubble, panting a bit as he stood up.

"Man… it's not dead yet, that much I can tell."

The Chi You stood up and threw a ball of energy at Lorelei, and he reacted by blocking with his shield. Before the God Eater could make another move, the Chi You went for a blow, and a shot to it's back made it stop dead. Lorelei raised an eyebrow and looked to the side a bit, and Alisa was there with God Arc in hand.

"Honestly you really need to pay attention more."

"Save it for after the damn thing is dead!"

Lorelei slashed at the beast as it started going for Alisa, and it seemed to have trouble trying to decide who to attack, and the next time it turned, Lorelei went and stabbed it's chest as Alisa blasted it's wings.

"And stay down!"

Lorelei kicked the carcass off his blade and wiped off his forehead.

"Nice choice of when to jump in Alisa."

"Well, I saw you up above fighting this thing so I took the opening when it arrived. I wasn't trying to help you."

Alisa stalked past Lorelei and the boy scoffed.

"You keep telling yourself that."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Let's go see if Lindow needs help."

Lorelei waved a hand and took the lead, and Alisa sighed in irritation.

"What is with him all of a sudden?"


	6. Phase 1-6

Gods Eater Burst: Lorelei

**Phase 1-6: Moon in the Welkin**

**The Den/Paylor's Lab**

Kota was, once again, sleeping as the lecture began, leaving the New-Types to listen to the lecture alone.

"Aragami… Back when the Oracle Cells were first discovered, they still existed in amoeba form. After that, Aragami in earthworm form were found. 6 months later, Aragami in beast from were sighted. And by the time a year had passed, an entire continent had been thoroughly destroyed by the expanding Aragami. Even considering that they evolve by taking on the form of whatever they eat, wouldn't you say that's a blistering pace?"

"Pretty much…"

Lorelei had his contemplative look again as he spoke, a look he'd had for quite a while now.

"Right. Now, strictly speaking, the Aragami don't actually evolve. The fact is, the Oracle Cell's gene sequence hasn't changed at all from the originals. You hear me? – not one tiny bit."

"Huh?"

"But, wait a minute, that's not possible! They're changing form aren't they?"

"They… the Aragami you see, they're just like you are right now. For them, taking on the form of what they've eaten is the same as acquiring knowledge is for us."

"So… you're saying that… the Aragami are just making themselves smarter?"

"That's right… all they're doing is acquiring knowledge and getting smarter. What kind of bone structure would they need to move fast in our environment? What would they need to develop the ability to fly? They're busy soaking up tons of information like a sponge soaks up water. In a mere 20 years, they've reached a highly advanced level of development in terms of form and function."

Paylor tapped Kota's head, and the sleeping boy let out a tired groan.

"Too bad the Aragami weren't as adverse at studying as young Kota here."

Lorelei sighed and leaned on a hand.

"Maybe if they'd been bad students our jobs would be easier… but nope, they're the dedicated kind."

"Yes, they're extremely dedicated and diligent students. I mean it really boggles the mind. I've even heard rumors of an Aragami that is actually capable of launching missiles. If that's really true, then that means they've even taken the form of man-made tools! Isn't that just intriguing?"

"More like worrisome."

Lorelei didn't think the idea of a missile launching Aragami was all that great… at all. In fact, it concerned him more than anything.

"If they can incorporate such complex information into their paradigm… Then perhaps one day, in the not-too-distant future, like Lorelei suggested, an Aragami in human form may appear."

"An Aragami in human form?"

Lorelei was a little intrigued by Alisa's quiet question… something seemed off about it to him for some reason.

'What's going through her head right now?'

**Lorelei's Room**

Lorelei flopped down on his bed with a heavy sigh.

"Man, trying to be friendly with Alisa is proving just as hard as it is to be friendly with Soma! Yeesh what is her freaking deal!?"

Lorelei was generally very frustrated. It seemed like all Alisa did most of the time was just complain about how pretty much everyone in the Far East branch except for her and Lorelei himself (most of the time anyway) had some sort of problem, Sakuya being an exception: Kota was too annoying, too lazy, or couldn't pace himself, the Defense Unit was annoying, Lindow's a bad leader, Soma… well… Soma never really came up much. And then her complaints on Lorelei. Hoo boy! Either he was being too nice, or he was being a jerk. Or he was being an idiot during missions. These past two missions where they'd worked together alone she'd called him out on _everything_ he did wrong. And what was his retort? _Nothing. _Lorelei just found it was easier if he kept his mouth shut and avoided snarking back, which was very hard to do. At least Alisa was a _little _considerate when it came to Lorelei since they were both New-Types and passed it off for the sole fact they were both rookies.

But, there was a list of things Lorelei could complain about regarding Alisa as well, such as her freaking _aim. _She's a good shot, but she never watched her line of sight. If an Aragami is there, she'll shoot, no matter who's in the way. Lorelei had gotten more injuries from friendly fire nowadays than from Aragami attacks! And what did Alisa say to _that _when Lorelei got fed up with it?

"_Well then maybe you should stop being a reckless idiot and make sure you won't get hit by staying out of my line of fire to start with."_

Lorelei growled and slapped his forehead with both hands.

"How in the hell am I supposed to look out for somebody I can't stand!? You set me on a _very _hard task Lindow!"

Lorelei sighed again and got up to check his terminal. In it were a couple messages in regards to Alisa's bad attitude… one of them asking him to do something about it.

"Don't they get that's what I'm trying to freaking do? Ggh…"

Lorelei just closed the terminal and left his room, heading up to the lobby, and when he went to the lower section, Hibari called him over.

"Lorelei! We've got an urgent request here!"

"What is it?"

Lorelei stepped over to the desk and Hibari brought up the request.

"A Vajra's been spotted in the old city by itself. An immediate attack is needed, and the opportunity can't be passed up. You do know what a Vajra is right?"

"I've heard about it… and I remember encountering one during my third mission. So I have a bit of experience fighting one. We didn't kill it, but, we did have to fend it off. I'll get the others ready and we'll head out ASAP!"

"Good. This mission's designation is "Moon in the Welkin". Be careful out there."

"Will do. Kota! Sakuya! Soma! We've got a mission!"

**City of Mercy**

Lorelei took the lead for the mission as they landed, Kota serving as his back up, with Sakuya playing the same role for Soma.

"Alright, our target is a lone Vajra somewhere around here. You all know the drill. Let's take this thing down and make it back alive!"

The others nodded to Lorelei's order and they started moving.

"He's shaping up to be quite the leader wouldn't you think Soma?"

Soma raised an eyebrow at Sakuya's question.

"He's been spending too much time around Lindow."

Sakuya chuckled a bit and Soma grumbled. Kota trotted up to Lorelei a bit, a question on his mind.

"Hey, Lorelei, what's a Vajra?"

"A large, chimera like Aragami that attacks with spark element attacks. You got divine element bullets?"

"Uh… yeah."

"Good. It's weak to those, so we'll need them. I spent a bit of time putting some together on our way here. Hold up."

Lorelei put a up a hand in the stay sign and pressed himself against the wall when he heard a noise, and he looked around the corner, spotting the Vajra ahead.

"Target at 11 o'clock…"

Lorelei pulled out a stun grenade and pulled the pin, his hand on the release latch tightly.

"On three… one… two… three!"

Lorelei rolled out of cover and threw the stun grenade right at the Vajra's face, covering his eyes as the flash let out.

"Hit it with divine bullets!"

Lorelei propped his God Arc on some rubble in gun form and let loose with the divine shots, Sakuya and Kota joining on the assault. Soma rushed out when he had an opening and slashed at the beast, which deflected his blade with it's claws, sending Soma flying into a nearby building. Lorelei growled and charged forward whent eh Vajra charged, sliding to the ground and firing at it's underbelly as it went over him.

"Soma! You alright!?"

"Get it just below this building! I've got a plan!"

Soma rushed past the hole he was standing at, and Lorlei nodded.

"Hey! Ugly! This way!"

Lorelei fired a mortar shot at the Vajra to draw it's attention, and the beast turned towards him with barred fangs.

"Kota, Sakuya! Help me lure it over here!"

The other two nodded and began moving over and helping Lorelei pin the Vajra against the wall with loads of fire, and when it was in place, Soma leapt down from the top of the building with his God Arc in Devour Mode, and he crashed down on the beast hard. Before the dust cleared, Soma came flying out, skidding to a stop.

"Damn… that thing's torso is well protected."

The Vajra roared, the dust cloud dispersing, and it launched a ball of electricity at the group, running off after it impacted, though it was definitely wounded.

"Come on let's follow it!"

Lorelei took the lead until the Vajra vanished from above, but it was still leaving a trail of blood. They group slowed down as they followed the trail, and it eventually led them to the old church, where they surprisingly encountered Lindow and Alisa, and Soma was the first to notice.

"What?"

The two groups met up at the ruined wall, and everyone seemed confused.

"You guys?"

"Huh? What are you doing here Lindow?"

Lorelei noticed Alisa seemed… out of it, and his look was analytic.

"Why would they send two teams to the same section? What does this mean?"

"Maybe something besides the Vajra was spotted after we arrived?"

Lorelei's suggestion was met with shrugs, and generally, he wasn't too sure himself whether or not that was true.

"Let's worry about that later. We need to wrap this up and head back. We'll take this inside. You guys check the outside. Got that?"

The others nodded and took positions as Lindow and Alisa headed inside.

"Oh, Lindow, might as well tell you the things wounded."

"Alright, thanks rookie."

Lindow nodded and continues on in. The main room of the church looked empty once Lindow and Alisa entered, but, from the shattered window, a large black and white Aragami similar to a Vajra but with a human like face jumped up to the ledge. Lindow barred his God Arc in a ready stance, sensing the danger immediately.

"Get back! Keep me covered from the rear!"

The new Aragamu roared and jumped down in front of the two, and the image of a certain Aragami popped up in Alisa's head from memories, and her face grew shocked as she moved back, words from her younger self going through her mind as Lindow started fighting the beast.

"_Daddy! Mommy! Stop it! Don't eat them!"_

"Alisa! What's going on?"

Alisa aimed her God Arc at the Aragami, but her aim kept wavering as more words went through her mind with flashes of memory accompanying each.

"_That's right! Fight it! Rise above it!"_

Lindow was thrown back, and Alisa's barrel was following _him _instead of the Aragami.

"_This is what you should say as you pull that trigger: Ajin, duva, touri!"_

"Ajin… duva… touri…"

"_That's right… that's the chant that will turn you into a strong little girl."_

"Ajin… duva... touri…"

"_These are your enemies… the Aragami!"_

As that went by, another image flashed through, but, instead of an Aragami… it was _Lindow. _Alisa aimed at Lindow this time, but, Lindow's own words started to echo in her mind.

"_When things get chaotic, look up at the sky."_

Alisa snapped back to her senses, and her gun wavered.

"No! Stop it!"

Alisa reeled back and her gun went upwards at the arch, blasting it and causing it to collapse, sealing the entrance in front of her, and Lorelei and Sakuya noticed and rushed inside. Alisa was now on the ground, staring at the rubble with a wide, blank look. Lorelei took to keeping watch, and Sakuya's face was shocked.

"Alisa! What have you done?!"

"No… no… Daddy… Mommy… I… I didn't mean it…"

Sakuya tried blasting the rubble, and Lorelei had a snarl on his face as he tried to piece together what in the world just happened. Outside, Soma and Kota were surrounded by even more of the white Aragami.

"This isn't good… We're surrounded here too, dammit…"

One of the Aragami roared and lunged at Kota, getting past him and inside, and Sakuya aimed at the thing while Lorelei readied his blade as the thing turned towards them.

"Damn… we're pinned down…"

Sakuya opened fire, and Lorelei closed in while Soma and Kota dealt with another one outside.

"Hurry the hell up or we'll be surrounded!"

"We're trying Soma!"

"Take Alisa back to The Den with you. That's an order!"

Lindow's voice came from behind the rocks, and Sakuya turned.

"But…"

"Lindow we're not leaving here without you! GRAGH!"

Lorelei was flung back into the wall, and he rushed back into the fray to hold the Aragami at bay.

"Didn't you hear me!? Take Alisa and head back to The Den, damn you! Sakuya, take charge of the others! Soma, find a way out of here! Lorelei, do what you promised me and look after Alisa!"

Lorelei rolled back, coincidentally stopping by Alisa, and he could hear what she was muttering.

"Daddy… Mommy… I didn't mean it…"

The beast ran off outside as Soma lured it out, and Lorelei stood up.

"Hurry Lindow! Come with us!"

"I'd like too, but I think I'll mess with these guys first… Save some rationed beer for me."

"No! Then I'll stay and fight too!"

"Sakuya we don't have a choice! I don't want to leave Lindow either, but right now we have to go! We can forget about the Vajra, it's probably bled out by now anyways! C'mon, Alisa, we're getting out of here."

Lorelei leaned down and got Alisa onto his back, and Kota ran over.

"Sakuya, I'm ordering you! Make sure you get everyone home alive!"

"No!"

Kota had to grab Sakuya by the arm to hold her back, and Lorelei could only watch with pain in his eyes.

"Sakuya, come on! If we stay, we'll all wind up dead!"

"I won't go! Lindow!"

The ground shook and Lorelei cringed.

"We have to go now! Kota, force Sakuya if you have to! We're retreating! Lindow, you better get your ass back to The Den alive you hear me!?"

Lorelei ran out at as fast a pace he could with Kota following, Sakuya in tow. On the other side of the wall, the Aragami was finally dead, and Lindow was leaning up against the rocks, blowing on a cigarette.

"Are they gone?"

Then, another Vajra like Aragami jumped up to the ledge, this one nearly pitch black with some white, with a face like an angry, demonic king, and Lindow sighed.

"Can't you let me a rest for a second? I can't go on like this…"

Lindow took a drag and blew out the smoke, throwing the cigarette to the ground, standing up and going to face what may be his final challenge…

**The Den/Lorelei's room**

Lorelei slammed a fist onto his wall hard, feeling the pain shoot up his arm. But he couldn't care at all right now. Lindow was missing, Alisa was going through a mental breakdown that showed no signs of stopping, and Sakuya was just apathetic. And what could he do while the search party was out? _Nothing. _All he could do was sit and wait, and just do his normal job. It was infuriating! What more, his concern for Alisa simply grew each day. Since he couldn't visit her in the medical wing, he could only sit by and listen to her panicked screams as she begged people to stay away from her.

"Why… why did you have to make us go Lindow? We could've helped…"

Lorelei had angry tears running down his face, and he fell down to his knees, his hand still on the wall and balled into a tight fist.

"What the hell happened back there? Why did all of that happen? GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Lorelei let out the scream he'd been holding in this whole time. He was fed up. He was angry… and he wanted to make things right… but he couldn't… not now, and it frustrated him to no end.


	7. Phase 2-1

Gods Eater Burst: Lorelei

**Arc 2: Recovering**

**Phase 2-1: Not so different after all**

**The Den/Lobby**

Lorelei made his way down the steps with a sigh, rotating his arms to loosen them up.

"Sheesh, I've been jumping around way too much. Damn Chi Yous, why can't those things ever sit still for at least a second? This can't be doing any good for me. I was a bit to dizzy after that last mission."

Hibari noticed Lorelei and opened her mouth to speak.

"Lorelei! If you want, you could go try to see Alisa today… though… I'm not quite sure if you'll be able to go in."

"Okay. Thanks Hiabri, I'll do that."

Lorelei trotted back up the steps and into the elevator, his face almost somber.

'_Please don't let this be like the other times. I can't stand to hear her screaming for some reason… it just seems… wrong.'_

With a sigh, he slowly started walking towards the sick bay, his hands balled into tight fists, and he stopped when the yelling started again.

"Don't look at me… Just leave me alone… Stay away… Leave me alone… leave me alone!"

"Give her a tranquilizer… And change the padding…"

"Oh… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… Daddy… Mommy… it's not… it's not what you think!"

Lorelei grimaced and slammed his fist on the wall as Tsubaki tried to calm Alisa down, and he could feel his fingernails digging into the skin of his right hand.

"Why can I only stand here and do nothing!? Why do I have to be useless… I couldn't help save Lindow… and I can't even help Alisa… much less see her… what can I do… just… damn it all!"

"Leave me alone! You should've just left me alone!"

Lorelei grimaced again, and this time he felt blood start welling on his hand, but the pain helped numb his thoughts a bit, and he was just about to open the door when a voice spoke up.

"Oh, it's you."

Lorelei turned to see the doctor who'd arrived with Alisa approach him.

"You'd better not see her right now. Once the medication wears off, she falls to pieces. You should come back another day."

Lorelei begrudgingly nodded, and some blood dripped off his knuckles, and the doctor seemed to notice that.

"NO!"

Lorelei's expression darkened, and he looked towards the floor.

"I'm sure she wouldn't want you to see her in that state either. You might want to clean up that little wound as well. Leaving it like that isn't good."

"I've felt worse."

**A couple days later/Sick Bay**

Lorelei and the doctor were near Alisa, who was fast asleep on the medical bed due to the tranquilizer.

'_She looks peaceful like that… but there's a storm going on in her head. And all I can do is sit and wait…'_

"It's no use trying to talk. I've received some very effective tranquilizers. She won't regain consciousness anytime soon."

"So all I can do is sit and wait huh? Same as always…"

Lorelei sighed, and on a whim, he reached his right hand out and placed it on Alisa's, and his eyes widened when he felt a sudden feeling rush through him, and multiple images flashed through his mind too quickly for them to make any sense, but, he caught a brief glimpse of an Aragami, and… Lindow. Alisa's eyes opened and she looked towards Lorelei, and the boy was still shocked at what he'd just seen.

"What? Where am I? Why am I…?"

"What… just… happened?"

"S-she actually regained consciousness? … Impossible! E-excuse me!"

Lorelei watched the doctor leave, his hand back on his lap.

"Just now… you…"

Lorelei looked at his right hand as Alisa's head sank back into the pillow.

'_What in the world just happened… when I grabbed her hand… it's like… her thoughts moved to my head… if so… could it have been the same from me to her?' _

Out in the hall, the doctor was on the phone, and his voice was rather shocked.

"Yes, yes. I never thought she'd snap out of it… I don't know what happened but… Yes… what we discussed. Yes… I believe the two New-Types somehow resonated… What should I do? Isolate her?"

After a silence, the doctor spoke again.

"I see… Then I'll leave her as is for now… Yes. If you'll excuse me…"

**The Den/Lobby**

Tsubaki had the First Unit gathered, as she'd made some changes to their mission plan.

"I'm changing today's mission to "Eradicate all Argami in the Vicinity". As for Alisa, after further tests, she's now on the road to recovery. But, as she's in the hospital, she won't be seeing active combat for a while. Lastly, as of today, God Eater Lindow has been designated as Missing in Action/Discharged. That's all."

Lorelei's look darkened at that, and Sakuya was next to speak.

"How can that be? We still haven't found his armlet or God Arc! It's a decision from the top. Also, we've confirmed that both the beacon and biometric signal from the armlet have vanished. Now that attacks by unconfirmed Aragami have intensified, we can't afford to search for someone who may or may not be alive."

Tsubaki left, and Sakuya seemed on the verge of a breakdown.

"Listen! Don't you think it's crazy that they'd give up the search so soon? We even know which Aragami attacked, and where… So why? No… I'm sorry… I shouldn't be lashing out at you. I'm gonna try to cool off for a while. Don't worry, I'll be back on duty in time."

"Sakuya sure looks upset doesn't she? I think, you and the others all did a good job. But, what the heck's up with Alisa all of a sudden? Look, you're both New-Types… so maybe you should stay by her side, Lorelei."

"The ironic thing is, Lindow asked me to do the same thing… Yeah… I will."

"Okay, I'm gonna go see if Sakuya's all right!"

Lorelei watched Kota go, and he sighed.

"Everyone's hurting in some way… me… Kota… Sakuya… Soma… even Tsubaki.

**City of Mercy**

Lorelei rolled out of the way of yet another blast of wind from the target Kongou, a stun grenade in his left hand. He pulled the pin with his teeth and threw it out, the Kongou covering its eyes after the flash.

"Soma! Finish the thing off!"

"Roger!"

Soma jumped down from his perch and drove his blade into the Kongou, the beast quivering before collapsing.

"And done."

Lorelei sighed and leaned back a bit, and Kota walked up to him.

"Hey, you doing alright Lorelei? You seem a little… I dunno, out of it."

"Uh… it's nothing Kota. Just… had something on my mind."

"Dude, Alisa's gonna be fine. Quit worrying."

"It's not that! It's… something else… something only another New-Type might be able to understand."

Kota quirked an eyebrow as Lorelei looked down at his right hand again.

'_I still want to know what all that was… why in the world did I see Alisa's thoughts? It's almost like our minds resonated for a second. I'll have to try it again… just to be sure.'_

Soma looked back at the other two and let out a huff.

"Come on you two. Let's get back before anything else happens."

**The Den/Sick Bay**

Lorelei was by Alisa's side again, the girl unconscious. After a moment of contemplation and several reconsiderations, Lorelei placed his hand on Alisa's, and he cringed a bit when he started seeing memories.

_The location was an older warehouse of sorts, boxes and the like scattered around, and Lorelei could hear voices, belonging to a man, a woman, and a young girl._

"_Here we come!"_

"_Wait, not yet!"_

"_Ready or not…"_

"_Here we come!"_

_The vision focused in a wardrobe, where a young girl, Alisa no doubt, was hiding, peeking out from the doors, and his vision moved to her eyes. _

"_Wait, not yet!"_

"_Here we come!"_

"_Ready or not!"_

"_Ok, ready!"_

_Two adults walked into view within the small space, a man and a woman who must have been Alisa's parents. _

"_Here we come!"_

_Alisa's parents walked right past the hiding spot, eventually coming closer, but, they saw something and started panicking, and out of nowhere, a pitch black Vajra-like Aragami burst into vision, Alisa's parent's vanishing under the sounds of its jaws. _

"_Daddy! Mommy! Stop it! Don't eat them!"_

_When the Aragami was done, it turned its bloodstained face towards the wardrobe, a truly terrifying visage._

"_No! Stop it!"_

_The vision changed, and now, it was Alisa in a practice arena with her arm in a God Arc case, her hand gripping the handle of the familiar red God Arc, and a voice that seemed awfully familiar spoke._

"_So young… how you must've cursed yourself for being so utterly powerless!"_

_The case slammed closed, and Alisa began cringing as a rather unsettling sound was heard._

"_If you can overcome this anguish, you'll gain the power to avenge your parents' death! That's right! Fight it! Rise above it!"_

_Everything blurred white, and now Lorelei heard the doctor's voice._

"_These are your enemies - the Aragami!"_

_Alisa came into view again, this time in a medical bed. This must have been one of her therapy sessions… or so it seemed._

"_Ara… gami?!"_

"_Right. Scary-as-all-get-out Aragami! And last but not least, here is…"_

_The image on the screen, for some reason, changed to pictures of Lindow._

"_The Aragami that devoured your mommy and daddy!"_

"_Daddy… Mommy…"_

"_But… you're strong enough to fight it not, aren't you? It couldn't be easier. All you have to do is aim at it and pull the trigger."_

"_Pull the trigger…"_

"_Right. And this is what you should say as you pull that trigger: Ajin duva touri!" _

"_Ajin… duva… touri…"_

"_That's right. That's the chant that'll turn you into a strong little girl."_

"_Ajin… duva… touri…"_

Lorelei was breathing a bit heavier, shocked at what he'd just seen.

"She's… like me… someone who lost their parents to the Aragami while they were young…"

Alisa opened her eyes and sat up, and Lorelei pulled his hand back.

"What? What was that? Just now, I felt your emotions flowing into my mind… Could it be… that it happened to you, too?"

"Yeah… and… I'm sorry… I had no idea, Alisa."

Alisa's look changed a bit, and she looked down.

"I thought I'd forgotten all about that day… until right now… I thought I'd play a trick on my parents… and went to hide in a nearby building during a game of hide-and-seek. Ready or not, here we come… And then, suddenly they were running and shouting, "Aragami! It's an Aragami!" I should've rushed out then… but I was so scared I couldn't move! Daddy and Mommy… came to look for me… but… I heard a terrible growling… and then… right before my eyes!"

"It's alright Alisa… I don't blame you… I know _exactly _how that feels."

Lorelei gently put his hand back on Alisa's as her stressed look turned towards him, tears streaking her face.

"If only I'd realized… ran out there sooner… neither of them would've… it was all my fault!"

"No, Alisa, it wasn't. None of that was your fault."

Lorelei pulled his hand back, and Alisa continued.

"That's why… when they told me I was being considered as a New-Type God Eater, I thought, "Now I can get revenge for my parents!" Yes… THAT Aragami… the one that murdered my parents… GUGH!"

Alisa balled up a bit, and Lorelei, a sympathetic look on his face, leaned over a bit and pulled Alisa into a hug, letting her burrow her face into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry… I don't even know myself what's going on…"

"It's alright Alisa… I'm staying right here."

Alisa shuddered and broke down, and Lorelei held her tight as she sobbed.

'_We're not that different… her story is very similar to mine… and I never would have known.'_

After some time, Alisa finally managed to calm down, but she kept a firm grip on Lorelei's hand, and he'd gone to sitting next to her to make it easier.

"Thank you. It was you who held my hand like this the other day too, wasn't it? Those warm emotions… I could feel them flowing into me…"

"Heh… well… my dad's last words to me was to keep my eye forward… besides, in hard times like these, somebody has gotta stay chipper, don't you think?"

"Yes… I… I saw your own past memories… you and I… we're… not that different after all…"

Alisa had a small smile on her face, brought about by the kind air radiating from Lorelei right now. And the smile that she'd previously found annoying seemed much warmer now. And she didn't want to let that feeling go.


End file.
